Academic year 2022/23

Teacher and Leader development: ECF and NPQs

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Introduction

Introduction

This release provides information on the number of early career teachers (ECTs) participating in the early career framework (ECF) and reformed national professional qualifications (NPQs). It includes revised numbers of starts in the first cohort (academic year 2021/22) and the provisional number of starts in the second cohort (academic year 2022/23). 

We break down the metrics above by individual-level characteristics, school characteristics and region.

For ECF, we report on the numbers and percentage of ECTs participating in the provider-led and school-led ECF-based induction. For NPQs, we report on the numbers of teachers participating in an NPQ and the percentage of teachers that represents in the school workforce.

This release is based on the Department for Education's (DfE) Teacher CPD Service dataset, which consists of management information submitted by lead providers, the School Workforce Census (SWC), the Database of Qualified Teachers (DQT) and Get Information about Schools (GIAS). The SWC collects information from schools and local authorities on the school workforce in state-funded schools in England, and GIAS is the department's register of educational establishments in England and Wales. 

Experimental statistics are newly developed or innovative official statistics that are undergoing evaluation. They are published to involve users and stakeholders in the assessment of their suitability and quality at an early stage. This publication is labelled as ‘experimental statistics’ because it is a new statistical product introduced last year that we continue to develop as new data from the ECF and NPQ programmes becomes available.


Headline facts and figures - 2022/23

  • 26,291 early career teachers (ECTs) started the provider-led ECF-based induction in 2022/23.
  • 95.7% of early career teachers who were in the school workforce census in 2022 and started their induction in 2022/23 participated in the provider-led ECF-based induction, and 4.1% participated in the school-led ECF-based induction.
  • 19,367 mentors have been trained as part of the provider-led ECF-based training programme in 2022/23.
  • 34,690 funded NPQ courses and 2,251 non-funded NPQ courses were started in 2022/23.
  • There were 34,599 unique participants of funded NPQs in 2022/23 representing 6.4% of the School Workforce.

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ECF-based induction

This section provides information on the number and percentage of early career teachers who participated in the provider-led and school-led ECF-based induction in the first cohort (academic year 2021/22) and the second cohort (academic year 2022/23) following the national rollout of ECF in September 2021.

Schools can choose how they want to deliver ECF-based induction. They can use a provider-led approach whereby a DfE funded training provider and a delivery partner provide ECF-based training directly to the early career teachers and train mentors on how to support early career teachers. The training programmes designed by these lead providers are accredited by DfE and quality assured by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Alternatively, schools can use freely available DfE accredited materials to deliver their own induction programme or design and deliver their own induction programme based on the ECF (school-led approach).

The total number of ECTs who started the provider-led induction comprises all ECTs who are confirmed to have started the provider-led induction in a given academic year. The percentage of ECTs who started the provider-led and school-led induction is based on ECTs who appeared in the School Workforce Census. 

Figures from 2021/22 are revised from the provisional figures from last year. Figures from 2022/23 should be treated as provisional. 

The number of ECTs starting a provider-led ECF-based induction has remained relatively flat from 2021/22, reducing slightly (from 26,648 to 26,291). The proportion of ECTs who started a provider-led ECF-based induction also remained stable, increasing slightly from 95.7% to 96.1%.

ECF: participant characteristics

This section breaks down figures on the first and second ECF cohorts by personal characteristics. Whilst the focus in this section is on early career teachers, the underlying data files also include breakdowns for mentors who participated in the provider-led ECF-based induction. 

Percentage figures are not provided for categories where the relevant data is absent. Inclusion in the ‘Unknown’ category may indicate that either the teacher could not be matched in the School Workforce Census, or that the information is missing in the School Workforce Census.

Working pattern

In academic year 2022/23, the majority of ECTs who started a provider-led ECF-based induction were working as full-time teachers (20,414).

Part-time teachers were slightly more likely to have undertaken a provider-led induction than full-time teachers (97.4% and 96.0%, respectively).

Age

In academic year 2022/23, of those who started a provider-led ECF-based induction, under 25s were the largest group (9,049) followed by those aged 25 to 29 (6,541). The smallest groups were those aged 50 to 59 (493) and 60 and over (29). This is largely as expected, mirroring the distribution of ECTs by age.

The proportion of ECTs who started a provider-led ECF-based induction was similar across most age groups, ranging from 95.9% to 96.5%. The exception was the small number of ECTs aged 60 and over, 100% of whom started a provider-led ECF-based induction.

Gender

In academic year 2022/23, the majority of ECTs who started provider-led ECF-based induction were female (16,126), compared to 5,344 male ECTs who did so. This reflects the gender-split within ECTs as a whole; the proportion of teachers starting provider-led ECF-based induction was similar for females and males (96.1% and 96.0% respectively).

Ethnicity

In academic year 2022/23, White teachers were the largest group of ECTs who started a provider-led ECF-based induction (15,513), followed by Asian or Asian British teachers (1,529).

The percentage of ECTs who started a provider-led ECF-based induction was similar across all ethnic groups, ranging from 94.7% for Black or Black British teachers to 96.2% for White teachers.

ECF: school characteristics

This section breaks down figures on the first and second ECF cohorts by the characteristics of their schools. Whilst the focus in this section is on early career teachers, the underlying data files also include breakdowns for mentors who were participating in the provider-led ECF-based induction. 

Percentage figures are not provided for categories where the relevant data is absent. Inclusion in the ‘Unknown’ category indicates that the school could not be matched in Get Information About Schools.

Region

London and the South East had the largest numbers of early career teachers who started the provider-led ECF-based induction in 2022/23, at 4,804 and 4,241, respectively. 

The North East had the smallest number of early career teachers who started the provider-led ECF-based induction (1,158), but this mainly reflects the fact that the North East had the smallest number of early career teachers in England.

The percentage of early career teachers who started the provider-led ECF-based induction was highest in Yorkshire and The Humber (98.9%) and lowest in London (93.7%). Conversely, London had the highest percentage of ECTs who started the school-led ECF-based induction (6.3%). 

School type

In the academic year 2022/23, most early career teachers who started a provider-led ECF-based induction were based at an academy (15,594), followed by early career teachers who were at a local authority maintained school (8,561). 

The percentage of early career teachers who participated in the provider-led ECF-based induction was similar across school types, ranging from 95.3% for free schools to 96.9% for special schools.

School phase

In the academic year 2022/23, a similar number of ECTs started provider-led ECF-based inductions in primary (12,406) and secondary (12,544) schools. 

The percentage of early career teachers participating in the provider-led ECF-based induction was higher in primary schools (97.6%) than in secondary schools (94.5%). The percentage of ECTs in other school types who participated in the provider-led ECF-based induction was 97.4%.

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)

This section provides information on the number of teachers and leaders who undertook an NPQ from the reformed suites of NPQs in the academic year 2021/22 and academic year 2022/23. 

We provide the number of unique funded NPQ participants and the rate of workforce participation in NPQs. The rate of workforce participation is the proportion of teachers in the School Workforce Census who started an NPQ in that academic year.

Figures from academic year 2021/22 are revised from the provisional figures used last year. Figures from academic year 2022/23 should be treated as provisional.

There was a substantial increase in the number of funded NPQ participants, from 28,855 in 2021/22 to 34,599 in 2022/23. This equated to 5.5% of the teaching workforce in 2021/22 compared with 6.4% in 2022/23. 

In 2022/23, 11.2% of teachers in the School Workforce Census had participated in an NPQ from the reformed suite (either in 2021/22 or 2022/23).

NPQ: participant characteristics

This section provides information on the personal characteristics of teachers and leaders who started an NPQ from the reformed suites of NPQs in the academic years 2021/22 and 2022/23.

Percentage figures are not provided for categories where the relevant data is absent. Inclusion in the ‘Unknown’ category may indicate that either the teacher could not be matched in the School Workforce Census, or that the information is missing in the School Workforce Census.

Course type

The NPQ for Senior Leadership was the most frequently taken course from the reformed suite of NPQs with 8,956 funded starts in the academic year 2022/23, accounting for 25.8% of all funded NPQ starts. The NPQ for Leading Teaching was the second most frequently taken NPQ with 7,416 funded starts, accounting for 21.4% of all funded NPQ starts. The NPQ for Headship was the third most frequently started NPQ with 4,363 funded starts, representing 12.6% of all funded NPQ starts. 

There were two new courses offered in the academic year 2022/23. These were NPQ for Leading Literacy, with 3,059 funded starts, representing 8.8% of all funded NPQ starts, and the NPQ Early Years Leadership, with 2,213 funded starts, representing 6.4% of all funded NPQ starts.

Teacher grade

In 2022/23, assistant and deputy headteachers were the teacher grades with the highest rate of workforce participation (10.4% and 10.3%, respectively), followed by headteachers (8.5%)This reflects the fact that NPQs courses are generally aimed at more experienced teachers, and many support the development of leadership skills. The number of classroom teachers taking an NPQ has substantially increased from 20,620 in 2021/22 to 24,393 in 2022/23.

Working hours

In 2022/23, 27,435 funded NPQ participants were working full-time, and 3,924 were working part-time. There were 3,240 funded NPQ participants whose working hours are unknown.

The percentage of full-time teachers in the teaching workforce who started an NPQ was 7.1%, compared to 3.3% for part-time teachers. 

Age group

In the academic year 2022/23, teachers and leaders in the 30 to 39 age group had the largest number of funded NPQ participants (13,761), followed by teachers and leaders in the 40 to 49 age group (9,552) and those in the 25 to 29 age group (5,562). There were 701 funded NPQ participants whose age is unknown.

Those in the 30 to 39 age group were most likely to start a funded NPQ, with 8.1% of teachers starting an NPQ. The percentage of teachers in the school workforce who were between 25 and 29 years old and started a funded NPQ was 7.4%. 

Teachers who were under 25 years old had the second lowest percentage of funded NPQ participants (2.1%), reflecting the fact that NPQs are designed to support professional development for more experienced teachers. Funded NPQ participation was 3.9% among teachers who were 50 to 59 years old and 1% among teachers who were 60 or over

Gender

In the academic year 2022/23, the majority of funded NPQ participants were female (23,955), while male teachers accounted for 8,385 funded NPQ participants. The gender of 781 funded NPQ participants was unknown

The percentage of male teachers in the school workforce who started an NPQ was 6.8%, compared to 6.2% of female teachers. Male teachers were slightly more likely to start an NPQ course than female teachers.

Ethnicity

In the academic year 2022/23, most funded NPQ participants identified as White (26,480), followed by 1,333 funded NPQ participants identifying as Asian or Asian British. 846 funded NPQ participants identified as Black or Black British, 511 identified as Any other Mixed background, and 220 identified as Any other ethnic group. 

Teachers who identified as Black or Black British had the highest rate of funded NPQ participation (7.3%), followed by those who identified as Any other Mixed background (6.7%) and those who identified as White (6.5%).

NPQ: school characteristics

This section provides information on the characteristics of schools whose teachers and leaders who were taking an NPQ from the reformed suites of NPQs in the academic year 2021/22 and academic year 2022/23.

Percentage figures are not provided for categories where the relevant data is absent. Inclusion in the ‘Unknown’ category indicates that the teacher's school was not provided or could not be matched to Get Information About Schools.

School type

The majority of funded NPQ participants (19,774) were based at academies, followed by 11,608 funded NPQ participants at local authority maintained schools and 1,400 at free schools

Free schools had the highest rate of workforce participation in NPQs (7.4%), followed by academies (6.7%), special schools (6.6%) and local authority maintained schools (5.8%).

School phase

Primary schools had the largest number of unique funded NPQ participants (16,919), followed by 14,654 unique funded NPQ participants at secondary schools. 

The percentage of primary school teachers in the school workforce who started a funded NPQ was 6.6%, compared to 6.0% of teachers at secondary schools. 

Region

The North West had the largest number of funded NPQ participants (5,177), followed by 4,970 in London and 4,799 in the South East.

Whilst the North East had the lowest number of funded NPQ participants (1,860), it had the highest percentage of the teachers in the school workforce starting an NPQ (7.5%). The South East had the lowest percentage of the teachers in the school workforce starting an NPQ (5.5%). 

Breakdowns of NPQs participation by local authority are provided in the underlying data.

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Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Experimental statistics

These statistics are experimental statistics undergoing evaluation. They have been developed under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics and published to involve users and stakeholders at an early stage in assessing their suitability and quality.

Experimental official statistics have been produced as far as possible in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

  • managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
  • meet identified user needs
  • produced according to sound methods
  • well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Teacher and Leader development: ECF and NPQs statistics and data:

Early Career Analysis and Research Team

Email
sally.mercer@education.gov.uk

Telephone: Sally Mercer
07930508439

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